today's meditation (Is.35) Finding Joy

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Isaiah 35:1-10)
1   The wilderness and the desert will rejoice,
     And the desert will shout for joy and blossom;
     Like the crocus 

2   It will blossom profusely 
     And rejoice with joy and jubilation.
     The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
     The majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
     They will see the glory of the Lord,
     The majesty of our God.
3   Strengthen the exhausted, and make the feeble strong.
4   Say to those with anxious heart,
     “Take courage, fear not.
     Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
     The retribution of God will come,
     But He will save you.”
5   Then the eyes of those who are blind will be opened,
     And the ears of those who are deaf will be unstopped.
6   Then those who limp will leap like a deer,
     And the tongue of those who cannot speak will shout for joy.
     For waters will burst forth in the wilderness,
     And streams in the desert.
7   The scorched land will become a pool 
     And the thirsty ground springs of water;
     In the haunt of jackals, its resting place,
     Grass becomes reeds and rushes.
8   A highway will be there, a roadway,
     And it will be called the Highway of Holiness.
     The unclean will not travel on it,
     But it will be for the one who walks that way,
     And fools will not wander on it.
9   No lion will be there,
     Nor will any vicious animal go up on it;
     They will not be found there.
     But the redeemed will walk there,
10 And the redeemed of the Lord will return 
     And come to Zion with joyful shouting,
     And everlasting joy will be on their heads.
     They will obtain gladness and joy,
     And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Although this passage is prophetic, God's principles apply to us right now.  When we become a believer in Jesus Christ, we are redeemed through Him.  Then as believers, we will desire to have a close relationship and fellowship with the Lord.  He will make sure that the path between us and Him is protected.  When we struggle and stray, our desire should be to return to the Lord.  The closer we grow to Him in our faith and trust, the more we will experience His joy.  

In the Lord's strength, we are to strengthen, equip and encourage each other.  In heaven, there will be complete healing and everlasting joy!  There is so much to look forward to, and there are so many blessings available to us right now!  

today's meditation (Is.34) Opening Our Eyes and Ears

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Isaiah 34:1-17) 

1   Come near, you nations, to hear; and listen, you peoples!
     Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.
2   For the Lord’s anger is against all the nations,
     And His wrath against all their armies.
     He has utterly destroyed them,
     He has turned them over to slaughter.
3   So their slain will be thrown out,
     And their corpses will give off their stench,
     And the mountains will be drenched with their blood.
4   And all the heavenly lights will wear away,
     And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll;
     All its lights will also wither away 
     As a leaf withers from the vine,
     Or as one withers from the fig tree.
5   For My sword has drunk its fill in heaven;
     Behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom,
     And upon the people whom I have designated for destruction.
6   The sword of the Lord is filled with blood,
     It drips with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats,
     With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
     For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
     And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7   Wild oxen will also fall with them 
     And young bulls with strong ones;
     So their land will be soaked with blood,
     And their dust become greasy with fat.
8   For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
     A year of retribution for the cause of Zion.
9   Its streams will be turned into pitch,
     And its loose earth into brimstone,
     And its land will become burning pitch.
10 It will not be extinguished night or day;
     Its smoke will go up forever.
     From generation to generation it will be desolate;
     None will pass through it forever and ever.
11 But pelican and hedgehog will possess it,
     And owl and raven will dwell in it;
     And He will stretch over it the line of desolation 
     And the plumb line of emptiness.
12 Its nobles—there is no one there 
     Whom they may proclaim king—
     And all its officials will be nothing.
13 Thorns will come up in its fortified towers,
     Weeds and thistles in its fortified cities;
     It will also be a haunt of jackals 
     And a habitat of ostriches.
14 The desert creatures will meet with the wolves,
     The goat also will cry to its kind.
     Yes, the night-bird will settle there 
     And will find herself a resting place.
15 The tree snake will make its nest and lay eggs there,
     And it will hatch and gather them under its protection.
     Yes, the hawks will be gathered there,
     Every one with its kind.

16 Seek from the book of the Lord, and read:

     Not one of these will be missing;
     None will lack its mate.
     For His mouth has commanded,
     And His Spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast the lot for them,
     And His hand has divided it to them by the measuring line.
     They shall possess it forever;
     From generation to generation they will dwell in it.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

No matter who we are or where we come from, we are all born separated from God.  We are born iwth a sinful nature, and God hates sin!  So unless and until we become a child of God, we will face punishment and destruction.  

And still, His desire is that all come to know Him, so He provides the way.  He came to earth to pay the price for all sin, for all people, of all time.  There is no excuse.  All of us can see the truth when we open our ears to hear and open our eyes to see.  And when we open our hearts to accept and believe in Jesus, we will be saved and receive eternal life with Him.  There is no other way.

(John 3:16) “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life."

today's meditation (Is.33) Fearing the Lord

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Isaiah 33:1-24)

1   Woe to you, destroyer,
     While you were not destroyed;
     And he who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him.
     As soon as you finish destroying, you will be destroyed;
     As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will deal treacherously with you.
2   Lord, be gracious to us; we have waited for You.
     Be their strength every morning,
     Our salvation also in the time of distress.
3   At the sound of a roar, peoples flee;
     At the lifting up of Yourself, nations disperse.
4   Your plunder is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
     Like an infestation of locusts, people storm it.
5   The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high;
     He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6   And He will be the stability of your times,
     A wealth of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
     The fear of the Lord is his treasure.
7   Behold, their brave men cry out in the streets,
     The ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.
8   The highways are desolate, the traveler has ceased,
     He has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities,
     He has no regard for mankind.
9   The land mourns and wastes away,
     Lebanon is shamed and withers;
     Sharon is like a desert plain,
     And Bashan and Carmel lose their foliage.
10 “Now I will arise,” says the Lord,
     “Now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up.
11 You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble;
     My breath will consume you like a fire.
12 The peoples will be burned to lime,
     Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire.

13 “You who are far away, hear what I have done;
     And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
14 Sinners in Zion are terrified;
     Trembling has seized the godless.
     “Who among us can live with the consuming fire?
     Who among us can live with everlasting burning?”
15 One who walks righteously and speaks with integrity,
     One who rejects unjust gain 
     And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;
     One who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed 
     And shuts his eyes from looking at evil;
16 He will dwell on the heights,
     His refuge will be the impregnable rock;
     His bread will be given him,
     His water will be sure.

17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
     They will see a distant land.
18 Your heart will meditate on terror:
     “Where is one who counts?
     Where is one who weighs?
     Where is one who counts the towers?”
19 You will no longer see a fierce people,
     A people of unintelligible speech which no one comprehends,
     Of a stammering tongue which no one understands.
20 Look at Zion, the city of our appointed feasts;
     Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed settlement,
     A tent which will not be folded;
     Its stakes will never be pulled up,
     Nor any of its ropes be torn apart.
21 But there the majestic One, the Lord, will be for us 
     A place of rivers and wide canals 
     On which no boat with oars will go,
     And on which no mighty ship will pass—
22 For the Lord is our judge,
     The Lord is our lawgiver,
     The Lord is our king;
     He will save us—
23 Your ship’s tackle hangs slack;
     It cannot hold the base of its mast firmly,
     Nor spread out the sail.
     Then the prey of an abundant spoil will be divided;
     Those who limp will take the plunder.
24 And no resident will say, “I am sick”;
     The people who live there will be forgiven their wrongdoing.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

The Lord not only has made the Law, but He also keeps the Law, and will judge everyone according to the Law.  Those who break the Law will be punished.  Where there is sin, there is eternal death.  This is why Jesus came to die and pay the price for all sin and rose again, in order to have victory over death.  In this way, the Lord can offer us forgiveness for our sins.  All we have to do is accept His free gift of salvation, which is freedom from sin, death and eternal punishment.  We are saved from His wrath and consuming fire.

Those who seek and make Jesus their personal Lord. Savior and King, receive His everlasting life, and can take refuge in Him.  Because all our sins have been forgiven, God sees us through Jesus' righteousness.  And because our sins have been forgiven, He will not judge us according to any sin committed.  This answers the question in verse 14 which asks how someone can live with the consuming fire (which is the Lord).

As believers, as per His Law, the Lord will judge us according to the good deeds we do with pure motives.  And because it is His desire that we serve, exalt and glorify Him, the Lord will guide and equip us in righteousness and integrity.  As we fear Him, He is our treasure, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge.  And as He is our justice and impregnable rock, the Lord will protect and provide for us, heal and nourish us.  

today's meditation (Is.32) Gleaning Knowledge

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Isaiah 32:1-20)

1   Behold, a king will reign righteously,
     And officials will rule justly.
2   Each will be like a refuge from the wind 
     And a shelter from the storm,
     Like streams of water in a dry country,
     Like the shade of a huge rock in an exhausted land.
3   Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded,
     And the ears of those who hear will listen.
4   The mind of the rash will discern the truth,
     And the tongue of the stammerers will hurry to speak clearly.
5   No longer will the fool be called noble,
     Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.
6   For a fool speaks nonsense,
     And his heart inclines toward wickedness:
     To practice ungodliness and to speak error against the Lord,
     To keep the hungry person unsatisfied 
     And to withhold drink from the thirsty.
7   As for a rogue, his weapons are evil;
     He devises wicked schemes 
     To destroy the poor with slander,
     Even though the needy one speaks what is right.
8   But the noble person devises noble plans;
     And by noble plans he stands.

9   Rise up, you women who are at ease,
     And hear my voice;
     Listen to my word,
     You complacent daughters.
10 Within a year and a few days 
     You will be troubled, you complacent daughters;
     For the vintage is ended,
     And the fruit gathering will not come.
11 Tremble, you women who are at ease;
     Be troubled, you complacent daughters;
     Strip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist,
12 Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,
13 For the land of my people in which thorns and briars will come up;
     Indeed, for all the joyful houses and for the jubilant city.
14 For the palace has been neglected, the populated city abandoned.
     Hill and watch-tower have become caves forever,
     A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks,
15 Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,
     And the wilderness becomes a fertile field,
     And the fertile field is considered as a forest.
16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,
     And righteousness will remain in the fertile field.
17 And the work of righteousness will be peace,
     And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.
18 Then my people will live in a peaceful settlement,
     In secure dwellings, and in undisturbed resting places;
19 And it will hail when the forest comes down,
     And the city will be utterly laid low.
20 How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters,
     Who let the ox and the donkey out freely.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Although this passage is prophetic, from it we can glean knowledge of the Lord.  For those who give their hearts to Jesus, we know that He will bless us as we live in His will.  His will and our blessings include: 

- seeing, hearing and discerning truth

- speaking clearly what is right

- knowing how to make and support noble plans

- rising up to work, serve and sow (both physically and spiritually)

- and living in productivity and peace 

today's meditation (Is.31) Making a Choice

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Isaiah 31:1-9)

1   Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help 
     And rely on horses,
     And trust in chariots because they are many 
     And in horsemen because they are very strong,
     But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!
2   Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster,
     And does not retract His words,
     But will arise against the house of evildoers,
     And against the help of the workers of injustice.
3   Now the Egyptians are human and not God,
     And their horses are flesh and not spirit;
     So the Lord will stretch out His hand,
     And any helper will stumble,
     And one who is helped will fall.
     And all of them will come to an end together.

4   For this is what the Lord says to me:
     “As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey,
     Against which a band of shepherds is called out,
     And he will not be terrified at their voice nor disturbed at their noise,
     So will the Lord of armies come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill.”
5   Like flying birds so the Lord of armies will protect Jerusalem.
     He will protect and save it;
     He will pass over and rescue it.

6 Return to Him against whom you have been profoundly obstinate, you sons of Israel. 7 For on that day every person will reject his silver idols and his gold idols, which your hands have made for you as a sin.

8   And the Assyrian will fall by a sword not wielded by a man,
     And a sword not of man will devour him.
     So he will not escape the sword,
     And his young men will become forced laborers.
9   “His rock will pass away because of panic,
     And his officers will be terrified by the flag,”
     Declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

God will judge righteously, punishing the sinners and protecting those who have made Him Lord and Savior of their lives.  God never changes His mind.  He does not retract His words.  The decision is ours to make.  Will we reject the Lord's free gift of salvation, or will we accept it?  Until we die, it is never too late to put our trust and faith in Him.  And really, the sooner the better!  

There are so many benefits to becoming a Christian.  The biggest benefit being that once He saves us and makes us His child, He promises to never forsake us.  And it is never too late, in fact the sooner the better, to get back on the right path.  Even as Christians, it is easy to stray, but why wait?  God promises to bless the obedient...

(Luke 11:28)  ...blessed are those who hear the word of God and follow it.”

(James 1:25)  ...one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does.

(Romans 8:28)   And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

today's meditation (Is.30) Finding Freedom and Rest

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Isaiah 30:1-33) 

1   “Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord,
     “Who execute a plan, but not Mine,
     And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit,
     In order to add sin to sin;
2   Who proceed down to Egypt 
     Without consulting Me,
     To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh,
     And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
3   Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame,
     And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.
4   For their officials are at Zoan 
     And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.
5   Everyone will be ashamed because of a people who do not benefit them,
     Who are not a help or benefit, but a source of shame and also disgrace.”

6   The pronouncement concerning the animals of the Negev:

     Through a land of distress and anguish,
     From where come lioness and lion, viper and flying serpent,
     They carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys,
     And their treasures on camels’ humps,
     To a people who will not benefit them;
7   Even Egypt, whose help is vain and empty.
     Therefore, I have called her 
     “Rahab who has been exterminated.”
8   Now go, write it on a tablet in their presence 
     And inscribe it on a scroll,
     That it may serve in the time to come 
     As a witness forever.
9   For this is a rebellious people, false sons,
     Sons who refuse to listen 
     To the instruction of the Lord;
10 Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”;
     And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy the truth to us.
     Speak to us pleasant words,
     Prophesy illusions.
11 Get out of the way, turn aside from the path,
     Stop speaking before us about the Holy One of Israel!”

12 Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says:

     “Since you have rejected this word 
     And have put your trust in oppression and crookedness, and have relied on them,
13 Therefore this wrongdoing will be to you 
     Like a breach about to fall,
     A bulge in a high wall,
     Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,
14 Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar,
     So ruthlessly shattered 
     That a shard will not be found among its pieces 
     To take fire from a hearth 
     Or to scoop water from a cistern.”

15 For this is what the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has said:

     “In repentance and rest you will be saved,
     In quietness and trust is your strength.”
     But you were not willing,
16 And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses!”
     Therefore you shall flee!
     “And we will ride on swift horses!”
     Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.
17 One thousand will flee at the threat of one man;
     You will flee at the threat of five,
     Until you are left like a signal post on a mountain top,
     And like a flag on a hill.

18 Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,
     And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
     For the Lord is a God of justice;
     How blessed are all those who long for Him.

19 For, you people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will certainly be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. 20 Although the Lord has given you bread of deprivation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher, will no longer hide Himself, but your eyes will see your Teacher. 21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. 22 And you will desecrate your carved images plated with silver, and your cast metal images plated with gold. You will scatter them as a filthy thing, and say to them, “Be gone!”

23 Then He will give you rain for your seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the yield of the ground, and it will be rich and plentiful; on that day your livestock will graze in a wide pasture. 24 Also the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned feed, which has been winnowed with shovel and pitchfork. 25 And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be streams running with water on the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 And the light of the full moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the Lord binds up the fracture of His people and heals the wound He has inflicted.

27 Behold, the name of the Lord comes from a remote place;
     His anger is burning and dense with smoke;
     His lips are filled with indignation,
     And His tongue is like a consuming fire;
28 His breath is like an overflowing river,
     Which reaches to the neck,
     To shake the nations back and forth in a sieve,
     And to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads astray.
29 You will have songs as in the night when you keep the festival,
     And gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute,
     To go to the mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
30 And the Lord will cause His voice of authority to be heard,
     And the descending of His arm to be seen in fierce anger,
     And in the flame of a consuming fire 
     In cloudburst, downpour, and hailstones.
31 For at the voice of the Lord Assyria will be terrified,
     When He strikes with the rod.
32 And every blow of the rod of punishment,
     Which the Lord will lay on him,
     Will be with the music of tambourines and lyres;
     And in battles, brandishing weapons, He will fight them.
33 For Topheth has long been ready,
     Indeed, it has been prepared for the king.
     He has made it deep and large,
     A pyre of fire with plenty of wood;
     The breath of the Lord, like a torrent of brimstone, sets it afire.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Whether making a deal with the devil, or making a deal with the wicked, or relying on others or ourselves in order to get through life - this is a life without God.  And the thing that we fear and hate is the thing we tend to create or get.  Ironically, in life, there are contracts and deals and rules and restrictions in everything.  Yet at the mention of Christianity, many people react by saying it is just a bunch of rules.  

With God and His forgiveness, we can have freedom from sin and rest in His grace, having eternal security.  And when something comes up, we can consult the Lord and His word, and be assured that what He says is truth which always benefits us.  Because God longs to be gracious to us and have compassion on us, we can be confident and know that God will guide us and help us!

today's meditation (Is.29) Sanctifying the Lord

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Isaiah 29:1-24)

1   Woe, Ariel, Ariel the city where David once camped!
     Add year to year, keep your feasts on schedule.
2   I will bring distress to Ariel,
     And she will be a city of grieving and mourning;
     And she will be like an Ariel to me.
3   I will camp against you encircling you,
     And I will set up siegeworks against you,
     And I will raise up battle towers against you.
4   Then you will be brought low;
     From the earth you will speak,
     And from the dust where you are prostrate
     Your words will come.
     Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the ground,
     And your speech will whisper from the dust.

5   But the multitude of your enemies will become like fine dust,
     And the multitude of the ruthless ones like the chaff which blows away;
     And it will happen instantly, suddenly.
6   From the Lord of armies you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise,
     With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.
7   And the multitude of all the nations who wage war against Ariel,
     Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,
     Will be like a dream, a vision of the night.
8   It will be as when a hungry person dreams—
     And behold, he is eating;
     But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied,
     Or as when a thirsty person dreams—
     And behold, he is drinking,
     But when he awakens, behold, he is faint 
     And his thirst is not quenched.
     So will the multitude of all the nations be 
     Who wage war against Mount Zion.

9   Be delayed and horrified,
     Blind yourselves and be blind;
     They become drunk, but not with wine,
     They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.
10 For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep,
     He has shut your eyes—the prophets;
     And He has covered your heads—the seers.

11 The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which, when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, because it is sealed.” 12 Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I cannot read.”

13 Then the Lord said,

     “Because this people approaches Me with their words 
     And honors Me with their lips,
     But their heart is far away from Me,
     And their reverence for Me consists of the commandment of men that is taught;
14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous;
     And the wisdom of their wise men will perish,
     And the understanding of their men who have understanding will be concealed.”

15 Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the Lord,
     And whose deeds are done in a dark place,
     And they say, “Who sees us?” or “Who knows us?”
16 You turn things around!
     Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay,
     That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”;
     Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?

17 Is it not yet just a little while 
     Before Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field,
     And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?
18 On that day those who are deaf will hear words of a book,
     And out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of those who are blind will see.
19 The afflicted also will increase their joy in the Lord,
     And the needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
20 For the ruthless will come to an end and the scorner will be finished,
     Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be eliminated,
21 Who cause a person to be indicted by a word,
     And set a trap for the arbitrator at the gate,
     And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.

22 Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says concerning the house of Jacob:

     “Jacob will not be ashamed now, nor will his face turn pale now;
23 But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst,
     They will sanctify My name;
     Indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
     And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24 Those who err in mind will know the truth,
     And those who criticize will accept instruction.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

No one can save themselves.  It doesn't matter how evil or successful or indestructible you feel.  It doesn't matter how intelligent or educated you become.  It doesn't matter if you claim ignorance or innocence.  It doesn't matter how religious you are.  No one can make excuses, and no one can negotiate with God or tell Him how it works.  We can only be saved - redeemed - through Jesus Christ.

Sin can blind us, so in order to understand God's words and His will, we can ask Him for eyes to see and ears to hear.  We can realize our sin and guilt and our need for His forgiveness.  To sanctify the Lord is to recognize His holiness and set Him apart - place Him first in our lives.  When we make Jesus our personal Lord and Savior, His Holy Spirit indwells us and changes us from the inside out, and we experience His joy.

today's meditation (Is.28) j. Learning the Easy Way

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Isaiah 28:1-29)

1   Woe to the proud crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim,
     And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
     Which is at the head of the fertile valley 
     Of those who are overcome with wine!
2   Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent;
     As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction,
     Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters,
     He has thrown it down to the earth with His hand.
3   The splendid crown of the habitually drunk of Ephraim is trampled underfoot.
4   And the fading flower of its glorious beauty,
     Which is at the head of the fertile valley,
     Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to the summer,
     Which one sees,
     And as soon as it is in his hand,
     He swallows it.
5   On that day the Lord of armies will become a beautiful crown 
     And a glorious wreath to the remnant of His people;
6   A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment,
     A strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.
7   And these also reel with wine and stagger from intoxicating drink:
     The priest and the prophet reel with intoxicating drink,
     They are confused by wine, they stagger from intoxicating drink;
     They reel while having visions,
     They stagger when rendering a verdict.
8   For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.

9   “To whom would He teach knowledge,
     And to whom would He interpret the message?
     Those just weaned from milk?
     Those just taken from the breast?
10 For He says,
     ‘Order on order, order on order,
     Line on line, line on line,
     A little here, a little there.’”
11 Indeed, He will speak to this people 
     Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue,
12 He who said to them, “This is the place of quiet, give rest to the weary,”
     And, “This is the resting place,” but they would not listen.
13 So the word of the Lord to them will be,
     “Order on order, order on order,
     Line on line, line on line,
     A little here, a little there,”
     That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive.

14 Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers,
     Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
     And with Sheol we have made a pact.
     The gushing flood will not reach us when it passes by,
     Because we have made falsehood our refuge and we have concealed ourselves with deception.”

16 Therefore this is what the Lord God says:

     “Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
     A precious cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
     The one who believes in it will not be disturbed.
17 I will make justice the measuring line 
     And righteousness the level;
     Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
     And the waters will overflow the secret place.
18 Your covenant with death will be canceled,
     And your pact with Sheol will not stand;
     When the gushing flood passes through,
     Then you will become its trampling ground.
19 As often as it passes through, it will seize you;
     For morning after morning it will pass through, anytime during the day or night,
     And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.”
20 The bed is too short on which to stretch out,
     And the blanket is too small to wrap oneself in.
21 For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim,
     He will be stirred up as in the Valley of Gibeon,
     To do His task, His unusual task,
     And to work His work, His extraordinary work.
22 And now do not carry on as scoffers,
     Or your shackles will be made stronger;
     For I have heard from the Lord God of armies 
     Of decisive destruction on all the earth.

23 Listen and hear my voice,
     Pay attention and hear my words.
24 Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed?
     Does he continually turn and break up his ground?
25 Does he not level its surface 
     And sow dill and scatter cumin 
     And plant wheat in rows,
     Barley in its place and rye within its area?
26 For his God instructs and teaches him properly.
27 For dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
     Nor is the cartwheel driven over cumin;
     But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a club.
28 Grain for bread is crushed,
     Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever.
     Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it,
     He does not thresh it longer.
29 This also comes from the Lord of armies,
     Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

God loves everyone and desires that all come to know Him.  Because He is all-knowing, He knows who will turn to Him and who will not.  He also knows what it will take for each person to turn to Him.  Some people have to learn the hard way, so God allows them to go through hard times and consequences of their own actions in order to get their attention.

There are some people who prefer to learn the "easy" way!  The easy way is to quickly confess, put away our pride, greed and stubbornness, and run to the Lord and never look back.  Embrace the Lord and everything He says, knowing that when we do what He says, things will work out for good.  All we have to do is trust in Him in all things, all the time.  

Easier said than done, but we can choose to pursue the easy way!  God is so very patient.  He knows we will stumble and struggle.  He knows it will take time to learn and grow!  And while we live here on earth, it will take our entire lives to learn, grow and mature.  Even with those who want to learn everything immediately.  But we not only can, we should ask for the Lord's help to do this, and rely on His wisdom and strength.  We should want to!  God wants to help us in all things, all the time!!!